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Fig trees not producing fruit

10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago

I have a Celeste. Italian, and a Black Mission fig tree that have good growth but don't produce figs. The Italian has three figs, but the other two do not have fruit. Same last year, the black mission had fruit that dropped before maturity. They get sun, sufficient water and only fertilized sparingly during the spring.

Comments (16)

  • 10 years ago

    Age? Height? Branching? Type of fertilizer? Any pruning? Amount of sun?

    If the fig tree is happy and healthy, it doesn't drop the figs unless hit by cold weather.



  • 10 years ago

    The trees are about 4 years old. Multiple branches. I used 10-10-10 fertilizer in March, just before the leaves emerged. No pruning. The trees get about 6 hours direct sunlight daily. No cold weather this year in SC. In fact, the weather was unusually warm, even in this area. No cold weather in the summer last year when the Black Mission fig dropped the fruit. No visible insect pests noted, other than pesky squirrels.

  • 10 years ago

    Soil test? N might have been high enough without fertilizer. In ground figs really don't need much, if any, fertilizer. Drying out or too much water from rain? Pictures may help others comment.

    Some people say that fig trees have a juvenile period of 4-5 years with zero figs. I can't really comment on that as I've never experienced that with any of my rootings.

  • 10 years ago

    I also have a problem with mine, I think they are too young but when I got them they hd three figs which were pretty okay tasting (I have Magnolia Figs) and the plant has not grown at all for two years! I realized it wasnt getting enough sun and now it seems to be growing more but idk how to get it to fruit...

  • 10 years ago

    Figs can sometimes be very particular about where they are planted. I'm also in SC and have never had your problem, but my trees are planted in full all day sun, and are heavily mulched and weed free. Figs also like a lot of lime, and if yours are lime deficient, try adding some.

  • 10 years ago

    Lack of sufficient sun exposure.

    You need at least 8 hours of full sun,in your place and in much of the east of the country,for fig tree to produce a normal harvest.!

    The more sun it gets ,the more fruits it produces.!

  • 10 years ago

    location is paramount. these trees are especially happy near concrete! I also have some that are great growers but don't fruit. I'm hoping it's an age thing, so after seven years I'll have fruit is the hope.

  • 10 years ago

    Thank you. My Black Mission, Italian, and Turkey trees are finally fruiting, but the Celeste is not. I have been using a lot of lime this year.

  • 10 years ago

    I just purchased a second Celeste fig. The plant is about 2 feet tall and has 6 figs already, but my 4-5 year old Celeste is healthy, but no fruit yet. Anomaly?Maybe, but defies logic.

  • 10 years ago

    Try pinching the tips of the branches. That often produces fruit. Once it figures out how to produce fruit, it won't forget.

  • 10 years ago

    The tree should already 'know' how to produce fruit, considering it produced last year.

  • 10 years ago

    These trees know just what they are doing. I'm giving it one more season and then I'm going to get biblical on every unfruitful tree, save perhaps two trees that are becoming air conditioners in their own right, due to their size/shading ability.

    I maintain that location is vitally important for fruiting, and is the cause of most trees fruiting or not. Genetics are important but still second fiddle to location, the microclimate, what is available for the tree to draw on, etc. The ones not fruiting are missing something and telling you about it but you don't speak fig, more's the pity!

  • 10 years ago
    last modified: 10 years ago

    Remember that figs thrive on having their roots greatly confined. In Italy and Greece (and Spain too, I'm advised, these trees grow out of rock faces, old walls and vertical drops without any semblance of soil at all - and are full of fruit. I used to live in Aldershot, Hampshire, (Area 8b) and we had a SW facing rear garden. I planted a fig up against the wall, facing the sun, and as it was right next to, and overlooking the Patio, we dug the hole deep. put a whole patio paving slab in the bottom, layered with flint rocks, then three other vertical slabs forming the 3 sides of a 'box' (the house wall providing the 4th. Filled in with good compost mixed with a lot of gravel, planted the ('Brown Turkey) fig. And waited. 3 years later, the top leaves were brushing the roof guttering, and we gathered 4 lbs of figs. (The fig also fruited in year 2 &3, but not as abundantly.) year 5, a heavy late frost wiped out a lot of the fruits, but we still got quite a few.


    If you give a fig unrestricted growth, it will focus on leaf and not fruit production.

  • 5 years ago

    5 fig trees all planted same time same place next to each other and only one has figs and it's been 7 years???

  • 5 years ago

    Wow❗where on a globe are you !

  • 5 years ago

    Western NC

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